LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Swimming & Diving fell to both opponents at the Bellarmine Invitational after the two-day meet on Saturday. The Screaming Eagles fell to Bellarmine University, 258-57, and to Gardner-Webb University, 259-55.
 
USI finished the meet with 26 top-10 finishers on the day, including four top-five finishes. Three of those top-five finishes came in relays. The Eagles took fourth in the 200-Yard Medley Relay, they also took fifth in both the 200 and 400-Yard Freestyle Relay.
 
Sophomore Payton Buse (Lynnville, Indiana) was the lone Eagle to finish in the top-five of an individual event. Buse took fourth in the 50-Yard Freestyle.
 
Other Top Men’s Results:
200-Yard Medley Relay: 1:37.66 (4th)
1000-Yard Freestyle: 10:44.31 (7th) – Freshman Jack Hannon (Lowell, Indiana)
100-Yard Backstroke: 54.99 (7th) – Freshman Gabriel Groves (New Carlisle, Indiana)
50-Yard Freestyle: 21.93 (4th) – Buse
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 3:18.20 (5th)
400-Yard Medley Relay: 3:40.53 (7th)
100-Yard Breaststroke: 1:00.98 (6th) – Freshman Caleb Davis (Spring, Texas)
100-Yard Freestyle: 48.96 (7th) – Davis
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1:29.23 (5th)

 Peoria, Ill.:  The Thunderbolts rallied twice to tie the game, and even took a brief lead over the Rivermen on Saturday night in Peoria, however the Rivermen managed to squeak by the Thunderbolts in overtime, 4-3.  The Thunderbolts next home game will be on Friday, November 4^th against the Pensacola Ice Flyers at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

After Alec Baer gave the Rivermen an early 1-0 lead in the first period, Matthew Barron tied the game 1-1 from Timothy Faulkner and Aaron Huffnagle at 8:10.  The second period saw Alec Hagaman putting the Rivermen back in front 2-1, along with two fights, with Kenny Britton taking down Peoria’s Hank Sorensen, and Kristaps Nimanis getting the better of Rivermen forward Ben Assad.  In the third period, Felix Sasser tied the game once again at 5:04 from Alexis Girard.  With 3:38 remaining, Andrew Shewfelt scored to give Evansville their first lead from Faulkner and Barron, however the Rivermen tied the game 3-3 with 1:37 remaining to force overtime.  Hagaman scored to win it for Peoria at 3:22 of overtime after multiple chances at both ends, as the Thunderbolts gained a hard-fought point out of the very close loss.

Barron finished with one goal and an assist, while Shewfelt and Sasser scored one goal each.  Faulkner tallied a pair of assists, while Hank Johnson stopped 29 of 33 shots faced in net.  These two teams meet again on November 23^rd at the Peoria Civic Center.

UE finishes with an 81-56 victory

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Four players finished in double figures to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team to an 81-56 victory over Oakland City in exhibition action inside the Ford Center.

Leading the Purple Aces was Antoine Smith Jr. with a game-high 17 points.  He converted six of his seven field goal tries and all four 3-point attempts.  Marvin Coleman II scored 12 points while Kenny Strawbridge Jr. and Blaise Beauchamp recorded 10 apiece.  Strawbridge and Coleman led UE with eight rebounds.

“The whole process has been fun – we have been doing this with good people.  We have a good coaching staff and a good group of players,” UE head men’s basketball coach David Ragland explained following the victory.  “We played connected and I did not think there were many moments where we were disconnected. It is a team sport – everything we need to do must be done together.”

Evansville finished the game shooting 47.8% from the field and 52.9% in the second half.  Nine triples found the bottom of the net with Smith picking up four.  The Aces outrebounded the Mighty Oaks by a 44-35 margin with 12 caroms coming on the offensive end.

Both teams struggled to find their offense in the early moments with both turning the ball over on three occasions in the opening three minutes.  Kenny Strawbridge Jr. got the Aces on the board after Oakland City scored the opening basket.  UE started the game 1-of-7 from the field before knocking down five of its next six attempts to go up 14-2.

Marvin Coleman II hit a layup and triple while Antoine Smith Jr. also scored from outside.  Strawbridge added his second bucket to make it a 16-2 game.  Gabe Spinelli excited the crowd with a dunk while Blaise Beauchamp drained the third 3-pointer of the night to make it a 21-3 game with 11:08 remaining in the half.

The Mighty Oaks regrouped and would stabilize the deficit over the final minutes of the half as they would go to the break trailing 36-20.  Strawbridge led the Aces with 8 points and 7 rebounds in the opening period.  OCU came out of the break on a run, outscoring UE by a 6-2 margin to get within 12 at 38-26.

Evansville countered with a 13-0 run to open up its largest lead of the game.  Gage Bobe, Beauchamp and Smith each hit triples in the run that made it a 51-26 game at the 14:50 mark.  Sekou Kalle took over late in the game, contributing three Aces baskets in a row before Coleman drained another triple to make it a 72-45 contest inside the 4-minute mark.  UE would go on to finish with the 81-56 triumph.

“We have been practicing against each other for nearly a month so it felt good to play against another opponent,” Antoine Smith Jr. said.  “Attacking the boards has been a big emphasis for us and will continue to be that way.”

Tyquez Priester led Oakland City with 16 points while DJ Redding picked up a game-high 10 rebounds.  On Wednesday, UE welcomes Huntington University in the second and final exhibition game.  The tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Ford Center.

Aces defeat Flames in four sets

 CHICAGO – Three University of Evansville players recorded double digit kills to lead the Purple Aces volleyball team to a 3-1 road victory at UIC on Saturday evening.

Alondra Vazquez led the way once again with 19 kills with Giulia Cardona adding 14 and Emilee Scheumann checking in with 10.  Cardona paced the team with 11 digs while Kora Ruff added 10 to go along with 45 assists.  Laura Ruiz registered four service aces while Hannah Watkins picked up two solo blocks.

Set 1 – UE 25, UIC 19

UIC came out hitting on all cylinders as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead.  Kills from Kora Ruff, Giulia Cardona and Emilee Scheumann saw the Purple Aces storm back to cut the deficit to 8-7 before Cardona added an ace to tie the score at 9-9.  The Flames wrestled a 13-11 edge and UE would take advantage of three UIC errors to take their first edge at 14-13.

Things continued to go Evansville’s way down the stretch.  With things knotted at 16-16, Scheumann picked up a pair of kills in a 3-0 that propelled the Aces to the 25-19 set win.

Set 2 – UIC 25, UE 15

Highlighted by an ace from Alondra Vazquez, Evansville had a strong start to the second set, going up 5-3.  The Flames responded with a 6-1 rally to go up 9-6 before extending the lead to 15-8.  They continued the dominant set and tied the match with a 25-15 decision.

Set 3 – UE 25, UIC 18

Alondra Vazquez registered four early kills as the Aces opened up a 7-5 lead.  UIC made its first run of the set, jumping in front by a 10-8 score.  Emilee Scheumann provided the offense for UE, recording three kills before Laura Ruiz added a pair of aces to give Evansville a 13-11 lead.

After calling a time out, the Flames posted a point to end the stretch before Vazquez notched a pair of kills to solidify a 16-12 advantage.  Four errors in a row by the Flames pushed the Evansville lead to 22-16 and Giulia Cardona picked up the kill to give UE a 25-18 win and a 2-1 lead in the contest.

Set 4 – UE 25, UIC 23

Just as they did in the opening frame, the Flames took a 6-1 lead out of the gate.  UE worked its way back into the game, taking advantage of UIC errors with Scheumann adding another kill to make it a 9-8 lead in favor of the Flames.  It was another service ace that saw Evansville tie it up as Laura Ruiz picked up her fourth of the evening to tie the score at 11-11.

Evansville completed the comeback as they would go in front at 13-12.  Consecutive kills from Cardona made it a 19-17 and UE would fend off a late challenge to clinch the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth frame.

Two road contests are on the slate next weekend when the Aces head to Missouri State and Southern Illinois.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-23, 1-12 OVC) could not get going against Morehead State University (13-12, 9-5 OVC) Saturday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena, falling 3-0 (20-25, 25-27, 19-25).
 
A late run by MSU cost the Screaming Eagles the opening set, 25-20. It was a slow start for USI after not securing an offensive point until a service ace from sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) that brought the offense to life and tied the set at eight apiece. MSU put up eight of the next 12 points to regain the lead at 16-12. However, a trio of attacking errors from MSU and a pair of kills from USI brought the Eagles within one. Trailing 20-19, USI was not able to capture their first lead of the match due to MSU’s 5-1 run that ended the set.
 
USI held a solid lead late in the second set but watched MSU slowly steal the 27-25 second-set win. Junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) kicked off the game with a kill before freshman middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) and sophomore middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) each tacked on a kill of their own to help USI gain a 4-3 advantage. MSU returned the favor with a few kills and an ace to give themselves an 8-6 lead. USI was able to get three-straight points to regain the lead, 9-8; however, MSU tallied six of the next nine points to make it 14-12. This is when USI stormed back with a 5-0 stint, ending with an ace from sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) that gave the Eagles a 17-14 lead. Despite being down, MSU came back and took the lead once again to force extra play. The second frame ended with three-straight offensive points for MSU to give them a 2-0 match advantage.
 
The final frame ended with a 25-19 victory for MSU. USI was able to get the lead early with a couple of MSU errors and a kill from Downing and Bednar to make it 5-3. Both sides traded the lead up until MSU went on a 4-0 run that gave them a 20-16 advantage. An MSU service error and Downing kill brought USI back to life, but it was too late as MSU ended the match on a 4-1 surge that ended USI’s night.
 
Sophomore setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) highlights USI’s efforts, recording her seventh double-double this season by nabbing 28 assists and 10 digs. L Anderson finished the match with 11 kills, nine digs, and three blocks while B Anderson tallied nine kills with three blocks. Bednar earned 10 digs along with two aces while Downing had four blocks to lead all players. Junior libero/defensive specialist Audrey Crowder (Avon, Indiana) completed the match with 10 digs, her third straight double-digit dig game.
 
USI produced 35 kills, 32 assists, and three aces along with 50 digs and eight blocks. MSU ended the night with 44 kills, 43 assists, and five aces to go with 61 digs and four blocks.